20 years of ILC

The International Land Coalition (ILC) enters its third decade as a diverse and growing network of more than 150 member organisations in over 50 countries, providing a unique space where civil society and intergovernmental organisations come together on equal terms with a transformative vision for land governance.

In November 1995, over 1,000 representatives of civil society, governments, and multilateral institutions resolved at the Conference on Hunger and Poverty in Brussels to create the Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty. It was later renamed the International Land Coalition in recognition of the crucial importance of secure rights to land, water, and other natural resources in ending poverty.

Over the past two decades, ILC has engaged with the complex and rapidly changing realities in which its members work. In many countries, ILC-supported national multi-stakeholder platforms have played a decisive role in influencing policy and obtaining reforms that allow women and men to build a more secure and dignified future.

At the global level, ILC has contributed to the widespread recognition that land rights are central to development agendas, and has raised the bar for standards of good practice in land governance. Building on its existence as a global network of civil society and intergovernmental organisations, ILC’s focus has evolved to best achieve its mandate: from mobilising against hunger to promoting land rights; from awareness-raising to influencing policy; from contributing to the empowerment of civil society organisations (CSOs) to catalysing joint action.

After 20 years, the Coalition focuses above all else on supporting its members to achieve impact at the country level, translating that impact into global action, regional frameworks, and benchmarks for land governance that puts people at its centre.